Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Newsflash: if he is Uncovered, Julio Jones Can Score Touchdowns!

Doug Farrar, you aren’t making me feel any better about the Julio Jones ransom with this article. Farrar’s theme is that the Falcons were terrible at hitting big plays in the passing game and Jones will address that weakness. As evidence for his claim, Farrar diagrams Jones’s touchdown against Auburn, a play on which he was totally uncovered. I remember watching the play and thinking “holy crap, Auburn’s pass defense is even worse than I thought. They just left Alabama’s best receiver alone in a deep zone.” I did not think “wow, that Julio Jones really is something” and I doubt that anyone else had the same thought. Jones may turn out to be worth the stiff price that the Falcons paid, but it won’t be based on his ability to score when opposing safeties ignore him.